Daphne's Best Birthday
by Kristen3
Summary: Daphne isn't sure what Niles has planned for her birthday, but his gift goes beyond her expectations. Post-series one-shot. Written as a birthday gift for Aria (crazysockmonkeys).


**Author's Note: **I've been working on this story for a couple days now, and I wasn't sure exactly how it would end. But I'm glad I finally got it done. This is a birthday gift for Aria (**crazysockmonkeys**) for all of her support and encouragement of my stories! Hope you like! :)

Niles opened up the door to the nursery. He smiled when he saw the crib where he knew David lay. He moved closer, and found that the baby was awake. In no time, he'd picked his son up, holding him close and kissing his cheek. The feeling of holding the baby in his arms could never grow old, especially when the baby was smiling at him, as he was doing now. "I hope your grandfather keeps Mommy away for a while like I asked him to," Niles told his son. "Because you and I have to do some shopping for her birthday tomorrow."

David seemed to get excited at the possibility of a trip in the car. Niles carefully got his son changed and ready to go out. One would think Niles wouldn't enjoy the reality of dealing with dirty diapers and such, but he'd found that it wasn't really so bad when it came from a boy as wonderful as David. Niles knew he was hopelessly biased. Practically every parent in the world believed that his or her child was a miracle. But Niles doubted any baby could be more of a miracle than this one.

Once David was dressed, Niles carefully took him downstairs and buckled him into his carseat. It didn't take long to drive to the nearest card store. Niles came around and unbuckled his son's carseat. "Let's go buy Mommy a card," Niles said, unable to resist kissing David's cheek once more.

They entered the store, and wasted no time in finding the birthday section. Niles quickly glanced at the cards meant for a wife, but it didn't take long to realize they didn't begin to do justice to Daphne. It was all right. No cheap card could ever convey his feelings anyway. But he knew Daphne would love a card "from" David. Luckily, someone had thought to design cards for that very situation. At first, Niles was overwhelmed by a sea of pinks and blues. Clearly, he needed to focus on the blue, since David was a boy. He quickly settled on one which featured drawings of rattles, bottles, and other baby-related items. The message was cute, something Niles knew would touch Daphne a great deal.

Just as he was about to check out, he happened to see a display of picture frames. Though he knew he couldn't spend too long here if he wanted to be home when Daphne arrived, he couldn't resist taking a closer look. Since David's birth, Daphne couldn't stop taking pictures of the baby. There was one frame that was clearly meant to hold a baby's picture. Engraved in it were the words, "I love you this much!" With one glance at the price tag, Niles knew without a doubt this would be David's gift.

After paying for his purchases and heading home, Niles barely had time to get home and hide Daphne's gifts before she arrived. She suspected Niles was up to something, but with her birthday tomorrow, she knew better than to ask him about it.

All through the next day, Niles couldn't wait for his patients to leave so that he could get home. He always made sure to let Daphne know she was loved every day, but even more so on her birthday. Once again, he used his time while Daphne was busy at Martin's to get ready. He'd planned a meal for three, knowing Daphne would love having a night off from cooking.

Niles smiled to himself as he lit the candle on the small table in the dining room and placed a single rose in a vase in the center. Just then, Daphne arrived. "Oh, Niles!" she gasped. "I thought your father would never do his exercises today, then I realized he was probably giving you time to set all of this up. You've done such a wonderful job, and I can't thank you enough!" She came near him, kissing him deeply.

All Niles could do in response was blush. "It wasn't really all that much, my love. I just wanted to make sure you got to do something special on your birthday. I hope you like this dinner."

"I'm sure I will," Daphne replied, taking a moment to kiss David's cheek before sitting down. Niles quickly served the meal. As she ate, Daphne couldn't stop complimenting Niles' cooking.

Niles shrugged. "It wasn't too hard. All it required was following the recipe."

"Well, it was nice all the same. Thank you. I had no idea what to expect when I came in here."

"I'm glad you like it," Niles said. "But there's more. This is my gift." He placed a carefully wrapped box in front of her.

Daphne knew a box this small had to have come from a jewelery store. She gasped when she opened it and saw a pair of earrings. "Oh, Niles. You must've spent a fortune."

"I know I've given you a lot of jewelery over the years, but I couldn't resist getting you those when I saw them in the store."

"Well, thank you. They're beautiful!" Daphne stood and hugged Niles, kissing him.

Niles grinned at her when the kiss ended. "David got you something, too."

"He did?" Daphne gasped. David looked around in confusion, not knowing what all the fuss was about.

Niles quickly handed over the card and gift. He could hardly stand the anticipation, knowing that she'd love both items.

Daphne opened the card. She smiled when she saw the adorable message. And, in handwriting suspiciously like Niles', the card was signed, _Love, David_. When Daphne looked up at Niles, there were tears forming in her eyes.

Niles smiled. "I'm glad you liked the card. But don't forget to open the present. That was David's idea."

"You didn't have to get me anything!" Daphne said to the baby, kissing his cheek. Once again, David wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he enjoyed the attention.

Daphne opened the present. "This picture frame is lovely! Thank you both so much!" She kissed David's cheek again.

"Once we saw that frame, we knew you'd love it. If you don't like the photo I put in there, you can change it," Niles said.

"Oh, darling, I love it," Daphne replied. She stood and kissed him.

Niles knew that the feeling Daphne's lips on his would never grow old. And when she took David out of his highchair to hold him and kiss him, Niles found himself falling in love with her all over again.

"Thank you both so much! I knew you would plan something special for me birthday, but I never thought you'd buy me such lovely earrings. And even David got me something! I must be the luckiest woman in the world."

"No, my love," Niles replied, coming closer to take both Daphne and David in his arms. "It's David and I who are lucky. We just wanted you to know how grateful we are for all you do for us."

Daphne could only kiss Niles. Whatever twist of fate had brought her to the Crane family, she was eternally grateful for it. It had led to a happy ending beyond her wildest dreams.

**The End**


End file.
